Christmas Movies

Now that Thanksgiving is over it is officially time to celebrate Christmas! Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Thanksgiving, but I love Christmas more. (Plus – December is my birthday month so let’s get there already!)

To start off the season I’m going to give you my top ten movies that you should watch. These are in no particular order so you should just watch them all! I’m looking forward to watching all my favorites even more this year since I’ll be snuggling my sweet new baby!

1.       ELF

2.       National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

3.       The Santa Clause

4.       The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause

5.       The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

6.       Santa Baby

7.       Santa Baby 2

8.       The Polar Express

9.       Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch  Stole Christmas

10.   Home Alone

You’ve probably seen most of these, but if not get to work!!

Now Hubs thinks Die Hard and Die Hard 2 are Christmas movies that belong on the list. I keep telling him that just because it occurs during Christmas time does not make it a Christmas movie.

Do you have a favorite that I didn’t list? Do you agree or disagree with Hubs? Let me know in the comments!

xo Courtney

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Giving Tuesday

Hey y’all! With it being Giving Tuesday, I felt it was only appropriate to talk to you about the two organizations that are near and dear to my heart - The Ronald McDonald House and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. 

First, The Ronald McDonald House. I was always involved with RMH growing up and once joining Alpha Delta Pi in college (for those who don’t know RMH is ADPi’s national philanthropy) I became even more involved. 

The Ronald McDonald House is a home away from home for families with children in the hospital. Its community motto is - the house that love built. Their vision says “We believe that when you change a child’s life, you change a family’s, which can change a community, and ultimately the world.” 

The RMH has helped more than 10 million families over the years. The houses around the world provide more than 3,000 rooms a night for families. It is more than just a room, it is the ability to be close to your child when they’re in the hospital instead of having to go home, the ability to know that if need be you can be with them in minutes. Most houses are walking distance to the hospital. To stay at the house all they ask from you is for $10 a night if you are able to afford it. If you are unable ($10 doesn’t seem like a lot but some families are there for days and it can quickly add up) they simply ask you to pick a chore from the list to do around the house. These chores are simple things like vacuuming or cleaning the kitchen, and you never see anyone complaining about having to do this. Some families pay the $10 and pick a few chores. This is where the fundraising we do comes in, it helps pay for those stays. They also have the Ronald McDonald Family Room that is inside the hospital in case you don’t have time to leave or any other reasons you might have. These rooms have TVs, washer and dryers, kitchens, showers, beds. Anything you might need while in the hospital for a long time, which it usually is since the average stay at the RMH is 9 days. 

The second is St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Chances are you’ve already heard a lot about this wonderful organization, but I’m still going to talk about it! 

Danny Thomas founded St. Jude on February 4, 1962. His dream was that no child should die in the dawn of life. At the time they had 125 employees and an annual budget of 1 million dollars. Today they have more than 3,600 employees and a daily operating cost of $2 million dollars (which is primarily covered by public contributions). In 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4 percent. Today, about 98% go into remission within weeks of starting treatment and about 90% can be cured. This is thanks to research and treatment protocols developed at St. Jude. They also cover all your fees. When a child comes to St. Jude all they have to pay is their travel fees to get there the FIRST time, after that everything is taken care of. Your bills, food, and gas- I really do mean everything. Most people don’t realize this and that’s why fundraising and donations are such a large part of St. Jude. They were the first institution founded with the sole purpose of research and treatment for childhood diseases. 

They also don’t keep what they find under lock and key, information discovered at St. Jude is shared with doctors worldwide. 

Maybe you’ve heard all this before, maybe it was all new to you. Regardless, I hope it was eye-opening and I hope you’ll consider giving this year. Maybe not to one of these, but somewhere. And remember – money isn’t the only thing you can give. Most all organizations would be happy to have you volunteer!

I’ve provided the links for each organization to donate if you’re interested. 

The Ronald McDonald House – www.rmhc.org/donate 

St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital – www.stjude.org/donatenow 

Thank you for reading!

xo Courtney 

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SHE: Kicks Off Her Christmas Shopping

Hey Y'all,

How are you surviving the long holiday weekend? We have had the best time.  Thanksgiving was fabulous! Hope yours was too!!  I had all of my favorite foods and saw most of my favorite people. (Out of town family is always missed).  Next we were off to find the best Black Friday sales. My gift giving circle is on the smaller side, so for now there weren't any must have items. (I definitely see that changing in the next year or so.) My favorite part of Black Friday is seeing old friends in the middle of the night in Target or Old Navy or Bath & Body Works. It kicks off the Christmas season for us. We are not ones to "fight" for a gift, so we do a lot of people watching.  What about you? How do you Black Friday?  How did you do?  Do you go in a group? Wear Santa hats? or Reindeer antlers? This year there were lots of cute group shirts! We joined in on that one. A friend made us all "Black Friday Squad" t-shirts that were fun. I guess tonight ends the "Black Friday" sales at most stores and makes room for "Cyber Monday".  This is fun too! Lots of my friends actually prefer this day. They can purchase great deals from their couch, in comfy clothes with no worries about the traffic.

image via google

There are some great deals for Cyber Monday. Amazon is generally my go to site, you never know what they will have on sale!  But others to check out would be Target, Bath & Body Works, Best Buy and Nordstrom. These are a few of my favorites. Search for promo codes too! as you can usually get free shipping and maybe an extra percentage off.  

My strategy is to visit the websites, create your account if you haven't already and put the items you are interested in purchasing in your cart.  Most companies save your cart when you exit. Then tomorrow when the sales go live you are ready to check out and save those dollars!

Good luck! I hope you get the deals you are looking for tomorrow.  Be sure to share your tips and tricks for holiday shopping. 

xoxo,

Amy 

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SHE Decorates Last Minute

  

Happy Thanksgiving Week! I absolutely love Thanksgiving (probably because I love to eat!)

For today's post I went to Pinterest (none of these images are my own) and scoped out some of my favorite DIY decorations. Hopefully this will help you out if you're in a last minute bind!

These bottles are great and easy! Simply grab some old wine bottles, or beer bottles if you're looking for something smaller. Spray paint them the color of your choice. Once dry, write on them with a paint pen and tie some twine around the top. Ta-Da!

image via Pinterest

Next up - some simple candles. Grab a pack of fake leaves and use twine or ribbon to tie around candles. You could even use candles you already have. Easy and cheap!

image via Pinterest

This one I love! Use those old mason jar lids (you can buy some if you don't have a stock pile) and spray paint them orange. Tie them together and stick some cinnamon sticks in the middle. Hello adorable pumpkin!



image via Pinterest

This is absolutely adorable and a must (in my opinion) if your family has kids. All you need is a pumpkin and a sharpie. You could use a orange pumpkin if you can't find a white one, or paint it if you're really wanting white!

image via Pinterest

Last but not least - GOLD. My favorite! I drool over all things gold. Pick some pumpkins (real or fake), pinecones, anything really, and a can of gold spray paint.

image via Pinterest

What are some of your favorite fall decorations that are easy?

xo Courtney 

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SHE Makes Sweet Potato Casserole

Hey y'all! I don't know about you but I am ready for Thanksgiving!   One of my favorite dishes is sweet potato casserole. So today we're sharing our tried and true recipe along with a Lisa Bennett Minute sharing some tips!

Sweet Potato Casserole

5 sweet potatoes (cooked)

1/2 or 1/3 stick of butter

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup sweet milk

Mix all ingredients well and put in greased 9x13 pan.

Topping:

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/3 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix well and cover the casserole.

 Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until crunchy. 

And here is your Lisa Bennett Minute... 

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

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SHE: Uses Her Crock Pot

Hey Y'all,

This is the time of year where I get a little excited about cooking again. Summer meals are quick and cool and as often as possible cooked on our grill. But fall  ~ oh how I love fall!  It gets my tummy ready for the warm, hearty meals.  I love to be snuggled up on a cool day with a crock pot full of …. simmering away, making the whole house smell yummy. I guess that is why they call it comfort food.

There are so many fun fall activities to keep us busy. I am thankful that my crock pot cooking allows us to enjoy our family time and still have a hearty dinner that didn't keep me at the stove all day. Today, although not too cool, the rainy weather from Nate has me thinking about what all I can't wait to make in my crock pot. 

What do you use your crock pot for? Soup? Stew? Roast? Bar B Que? Desserts? Casseroles?  You see, there are lots of options at your fingertips to make.

I am sharing recipes for a few of my favorites today.  These are recipes I have used again and again and you can be certain that they always turn out perfect. I love that the crock pot allows me to prepare my dinner or dish without having to be right there with it!  You can use them anywhere. Ladies, this is a definite item you need for your first apartment! With a little planning you can eat well on your own ~ and no more Ramen noodles.

There is a smaller sized crockpot too that is great for a small group/ roommates or newlyweds (but if you want left overs, a regular 6 quart is what you need).  Most of the recipes can be frozen too. That allows you to have a quick meal a few weeks later that tastes like it’s been simmering all day. A nice treat to come home to after a long day.  

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

BBQ Chicken (easy sliders)

Hot Chocolate        

There are so many things you can do with your crock pot. Let me know your favorites. 

xoxo,

 Amy 

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SHE Talks Pregnancy

Hey y'all!  As you've probably seen, two of the SHEs are expecting the sweetest babies. Mine is due in just a short three weeks and Brittney's is due in January.

I've always been interested (maybe a little too much) in the process of pregnancy and childbirth. In fact my dream job would be to deliver babies. Thanks to this interest I've spent years reading things and listening to people's experience on their pregnancy. Then as we were talking about a baby and once I became pregnant I started really reading things about it. I thought I had a good handle on what to expect. If you google it you'll find all the normal things - exhaustion, morning sickness, aches and pains, growing belly, etc. But why doesn't anyone talk about the rest of it?

So I started a list of "things no one tells you about pregnancy" and then I asked other people for their input. Here are some of the things that were mentioned in hopes it helps you feel more prepared and know you aren't alone!

• Out of breath - you'll find this one on those typical lists. But I wanted to talk about it because I wasn't prepared for how early I was out of breath. I mean the baby was the size of a grape and I couldn't walk across the house without getting winded. And then how bad it is sometimes. I'll be in a meeting trying to explain something and just saying multiple sentences in a row I feel like I've run a 5k. 
• Vulnerable and Needy/Dependent - This one was big for me and I really struggled with it in my first trimester. Physical touch and quality time are my love languages so I enjoy hanging out with people, but the beginning of my pregnancy I couldn't be alone. It was bad! If hubs wasn't home I'd go to my mom's house or go to the store and just walk around. I needed someone to talk to me on the phone as I drove home from work each day. If someone wasn't able to talk to me I'd either get mad and pout or very upset and cry. #hormones. I don't know if I just got used to it or if it got better. But if this is you, have somebody who is aware of how your feeling so they know to always respond to your texts, answer your calls and so on. Keeping this feeling to yourself isn't healthy!
• Hormones - we all know to expect this one, but holy moly mood swings. The hormones have been WAY worse than I expected them to be. Brace yourself and warn your husband/partner that they'll come.
• Growing feet - some people's feet grow a whole size. I'm not talking swelling. I'm talking that they will literally grow and stay bigger forever. 
• Numbness - these babes are going to get comfortable no matter what. A lot of times that means they are sitting on your nerves and will cause numbness in your legs, arms, etc. It's super fun...

There was a lot more and I'm sure there is stuff that even my friends and I haven't experienced, but I hope this helps you! Pregnancy is such a wonderful process and I'm so thankful that I've been able to experience it. But now I'm ready for her to get here!!

Have you experienced something that isn't on the usual list and also isn't on this list? I'd love to hear about it.

xo Courtney

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SHE: Thanksgiving Begins...

Hey Y’all,

We are a little over a week away from Thanksgiving!! I am so excited. I love everything about Thanksgiving. I like the colors, the smells, the cool temps (usually) and the casseroles!!  I love a good casserole. To me, the turkey ~ which most consider the “main dish” of the holiday… is a side note.  Now don’t get me wrong, my hubby will fry us a delicious turkey and it will be devoured. But I love to fill my plate with the yummy goodness of the many casseroles we have.   It’s funny, they are all typically easy to prepare, yet I rarely make them except during the holidays. Maybe I will make that a new idea and make them more throughout the year. Think that will take away some of their specialness? (I am really not sure that is a word.)

What about you? Are you a meat and potatoes girl or a casserole taster?  My favorite is sweet potato casserole. Lisa has a delicious recipe in our cookbook. It’s like a dessert it is so yummy. But then you have hash brown casserole, broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, squash casserole, corn casserole, macaroni and cheese casserole and the list goes on… What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Like many of you, we will be making our grocery lists this week.  I plan to be sharing ideas with you about our Thanksgivings and “How we do them”.  We would love to know your family’s favorite Thanksgiving foods and your tips for a successful holiday dinner.

xoxo,

Amy

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SHE is Thankful

Hey Y'all,

It's November and almost Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving!  I love all the food and pretty colors and of course any extra time with my family is a blessing.  It's the time of year when we reflect on our blessings. If we are truly lucky, hopefully we can be counted as a blessing. No matter our circumstances, there is always something to be thankful for. Don't you agree?  I really try hard to see the good and be happy every day. Whether it is a smile to a stranger or a "happy face" written on a note to a co-worker, show a happy heart. Oh course I sometimes fail, but starting out with a grateful attitude sure does make it more attainable.  As we go through the month of Thankfulness, we will be posting what we are thankful for each day. We hope you will join us and share what you are most thankful for each day on our Facebook page.

A sweet idea for your family: Get a pretty notebook or journal and have everyone in the family write down what they are thankful for during the month. Be sure to explain what the book is for to your children. Encourage them to add what they are thankful for too. (Even when you are running late or know they are stalling to avoid bedtime or homework.) Teaching the art of gratitude to your littles is a precious thing to see. Don't you think this could be a lovely new Thanksgiving tradition? As you continue to add to it each year, seeing how your family has grown over time (filled with sweet little handwriting~) Definitely a book to be treasured. You can enjoy reminiscing through the journal with one of your favorite Thanksgiving desserts.

(Mine favorites are pecan pie & pumpkin pie.) 

Happy Thankful Month to you~

xoxo,

Amy 

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National Cookie Day!

Hey y’all! Do you know what today is? It is National Cookie Day!! I mean what is better than that?

I love cookies and I love just about all of them! Snickerdoodle, chocolate chip, sugar, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and the list goes on and on... This time of year though I have a special favorite – gingerbread. Is it the smell of the molasses, the childhood memories, or just simply the taste? I have no idea, but I know I love them so!

I usually wait until a little closer to Christmas to make them, but this year I got a head start for cookie day!  I tried a new recipe this year – it required no chill time and the cookies held their shape in the oven! Can we say perfect cookie recipe?!? You can find the recipe in my post by clicking here.

I always make my gingerbread men, but I also like to make other shapes. This year I stuck with circles. I got the perfect bite-size by using the top of a shot glass!

I went a little girly on my circle cupcakes – polka dots and monograms!

I hope you’re enjoying this wonderful holiday as much as I am! If you make any cookies I’d love to see them!

xo Courtney

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